Is Low-load Resistance Training With Blood Flow Restriction More Effective Than Traditional Rehabilitation of Military Personnel With Lower Limb Injuries

Summary

Pain can be one of the primary limiting factors to progress following musculoskeletal injury and may be caused by trauma or degenerative changes. There are few exercise rehabilitation interventions able to relieve pain, thereby reducing the number of military personnel fit for operations. Low load blood flow restriction (BFR) exercise has been shown to elicit an analgesic response and promote beneficial physiological changes in a variety of clinical populations.

This two phase study, aims to:

* Determine the most effective and feasible BFR resistance exercise protocol for reducing pain in UK military patients.
* Determine the efficacy of an optimal BFR exercise protocol for reducing pain and improving rehabilitation outcomes in UK military patients.
* Identify key physiological mechanisms underpinning any beneficial effect of BFR exercise on pain.

Consequently, results from this study will have direct clinical application and will aid best practice guidelines for the management of pain across Defence Rehabilitation by influencing the future rehabilitation paradigm. The investigators believe the results and impact will be far reaching, providing invaluable insight and knowledge to the clinical and scientific community to not only those embedded within Defence Rehabilitaion, but also those working in civilian sector organisations and professional sport also.

Conditions

• Pain
• Persistent Pain
• Musculoskeletal Pain

Interventions

DEVICE

BFR

The intervention involves placing a pneumatic tourniquet system over the proximal thigh. The cuff is inflated to either 80% or 40% of limb occlusion pressure during lower limb strengthening exercises, as determined by Phase One (2318/MODREC/24a). These exercises include leg press and knee extensor exercises. Four sets (30,15,15,15 repetitions) performed at 20% of one repetition maximum in Week 1, 25% in Week 2 and 30% in Week 3.

OTHER

control group

Standard residential rehabilitation consists of; (1) exercise-based therapy delivered in group settings and individually to address a variety of physical components relating to their pathology (e.g., balance and co-ordination, cardiovascular endurance, mobility and flexibility, motor control and dynamic stability, and muscular strength), (2) patient education sessions (e.g., activity modification, behavioural change, and focusing on pain management), and (3) one-on-one support sessions (e.g., dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry, prosthesis/orthosis specialists, social workers, and speech and language therapists).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Northumbria University

  collaborator OTHER

• Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, UK

  lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

• Peter Ladlow, PhD · Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, UK

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

55 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-06-30

Primary Completion

2026-05-29

Completion

2026-06-30

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations